


Hey Alexa, how do I get rid of stray cats?

by marawise



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:43:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29695215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marawise/pseuds/marawise
Summary: Being a superhero is tough. Being a superhero who doesn't know who their partner even is is tougher.Marinette is grappling with the idea of revealing her identity to Chat Noir with the hopes it could help them defeat Hawkmoth, and Chat Noir is reeling from yet again another rejection from his Ladybug. A not so unlikely friendship blossoms between the two as they offer each other comfort and advice, all the while still trying to save the world.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 8
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi its my first fic since i was like 14 so constructive criticism welcome, i'm not sure how long this is going to be but i imagine it will be quite short!

Paris. The brightest star in the country of love, the dream of romantics worldwide.

It was a beautiful case of dramatic irony for Marinette Dupein-Cheng.

She sighed as she settled into her bed, stretching her arms over her head in a yawn. It had been another long day of class, helping her parents in their bakery, and battling a particularly difficult Akuma. Balancing being a normal fifteen year old girl and being Paris’s superhero didn’t get much easier with time, she mused. 

Even more difficult than that, though, was Marinette’s love life. Not only had the Akuma almost royally kicked her ass today, she had flubbed in front of Adrien yet again. This time had been even worse than the last time! She hoped he wouldn’t remember that she had called him pig-nosed tomorrow, she’d only been trying to say he didn’t have a BIG nose. In fact, she thought his nose was perfect. If only she didn’t get so NERVOUS around him, if she could be suave and charming, just like how Chat…

She groaned out loud. Chat Noir, her superhero partner and occasional annoyance, had been part of the reason the Akuma had almost won today. He didn’t have a concept of ‘time and place’ when it came to flirting and/or unnecessary self-sacrifice. Yet another complication in Marinette’s love life was Chat feelings towards Ladybug. It wasn’t that she didn’t like him. He was one of her closest friends! Well, as close as you can be to someone without knowing anything about their personal life. They knew next to nothing about each other outside of the hero world, but they both shared the burden and pride of being Paris’s only defense against Hawkmoth, the mastermind behind every Akuma attack for the past two years. Being a hero is lonely work. Nobody else would understand the struggles of leading a double life, the anxiety from fearing failure, the distance it created between her and her civilian friends. The lonely work of being a hero was not lonely at all when it came with a partner to share the trouble with. 

But she just couldn’t return his feelings. It was mostly just annoying how he shamelessly flirted with her, but sometimes she caught the look that flitted across his face when she denied his advances. She knew it hurt him, and hurting him was the last thing she wanted to do. Of course she loved him, just not in the way he wanted her to. 

So yeah. Paris, city of romance, home of Marinette’s convoluted love life. 

“Everything okay, Marinette?” A light tap on Marinette’s cheeks prompted her to open her eyes to Tiki, the small red Kwami that granted her her superhero powers. 

“Sorry, Tiki! I guess you still haven’t eaten, huh?” Marinette sat up and reached for her purse, fishing out a small pink macaroon and holding it flat on her palm. Tiki’s eyes lit up as she lifted the desert up gratefully.

“It’s okay, Marinette, I could tell you were thinking about a lot. But what’s on your mind?” 

“Just thinking about how hard life has been since I became Ladybug, Tiki,” Marinette explained with a sigh, putting her head in her hands. She tightened her fingers into the sides of her blue hair. “I wouldn’t give up being Ladybug for anything, I love you and I love keeping people safe. It’s just a lot sometimes, you know?”

Tiki looked at her sympathetically. “Being a hero is never easy, especially not when you’re as good a hero as you are.”  
“Thank you, Tiki. But I don’t feel like I’m doing good. I feel like all I’ve done as Ladybug is kept things exactly as they are- we’re no closer to finding Hawk Moth. And I feel like Chat and I are in the same place we’ve always been- not getting any closer, not knowing anything about each other, and I still hurt his feelings at least once a week.”

“Maybe it’s time he knew you.”

Marinette’s head shot up. Her blue eyes stared at the little red Kwami in shock. 

“Tiki, you don’t mean-“

“I do mean. I’m hearing your concerns, and I’m to help! You two have made a great team for years now, but maybe in order to catch Hawk Moth you need to be able to share information you get while being civilians. It’s hard to be transparent with your partner when you don’t know who he is. Do you trust him enough to let him know?”

“It’s not a question of whether I trust him! Of course I trust him, it’s just still too dangerous. And it’s not like we don’t know ANYTHING about each other- I’m pretty sure we go to the same school,” Marinette sighed, remembering all the convenient times they had both been in the school when a classmate had gotten akumatized. “And besides, Tiki, I don’t even know if he’d still want to be a team if he knew who I really am. As Marinette, I’m clumsy and awkward and weird… I’m not Ladybug all the time.”

“Marinette,” Tiki smiled, “Just think about it, okay? I’ll be okay with either decision, but I think it’s worth taking the risk.”

“Okay, I promise I’ll think about it,” she smiled in response, and cupped the kwami in her hand. “But that’s all I can promise.”

Tiki nodded in return, satisfied, before yawning.

“You can go ahead and tuck in, Tiki. I’ll wake you if I need you. I’m gonna sit on the balcony for a few moments, and then I’ll come to bed,” Marinette said softly as she laid her tiny friend on her pillow. Snagging a blanket, Marinette quietly climbed up the ladder. and pushed the latch open. 

The chilled air greeted her, pleasantly cooling her flushed cheeks. The stars above her twinkled, too distant to care about their observer’s melancholy. Still, Marinette tilted her head back and allowed a small smile to spread across her face. They were too beautiful to not enjoy.

A soft thud caught her attention. Out of reflex, Marinette threw the nearest object at the source- her favorite blanket, still in her hand. 

“Hey- AH!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah yeah balcony scene cliche but i love them im a sucker for marichat sue me! again, i'm still very open to constructive criticism so pls comment ur thoughts <3

Even when she wasn’t a superhero, Marinette’s aim was pretty good. The blanket smacked her target square in the face, and the figure fell backwards off her balcony railing. Unfortunately, that voice was familiar.

Marinette flailed the to the balcony. “Chat Noir?! Oh my god, are you okay? I’m so sorry, you scared me!”  
“I’m fine, princess!” 

Marinette jumped again, flailing her arms over her head. 

“AH! Don’t DO that, Chat!” She whirled around, freezing when she saw those luminous green eyes maybe two inches from her face. Chat’s eyes sparkled in amusement, and his lips parted in a sideways grin.

“Don’t do what? A courtesy check in on one of my favorite old team mates?” he snickered. “I just wanted to see how Multimouse was doing- you know what they say, when the cat’s away-“

“Yeah, yeah, the mice can relax knowing they aren’t gonna accidentally attempt manslaughter,” Marinette huffed, using one finger to push Chat’s forehead back. An even wider smile appeared on his face. He extended one hand out in a deep faux bow, presenting Marinette’s blanket. 

Forcing a polite smile, she gingerly took his offering and leaned against the railing. Of COURSE he would make another visit tonight. Ever since the Multimouse experience, Chat had taken it upon himself to be Marinette’s occasional nighttime visitor. She wasn’t quite sure why- she didn’t think he visited Alya, or Nino, and definitely not Chloe. As much as Ladybug liked her partner, Marinette needed tonight to think, and Chat Noir was definitely not the cat she needed to accomplish that.

“So, Chat. What brings you to my place?”

“Oh, you know, night time patrols,” the blonde said casually. “I just figured I’d be a good samaritan and drop by your place, make sure everything is still standing, et cetera et cetera. It comes with the territory of being a superhero-“

“Chat,” Marinette interrupted impatiently, “I don’t mean to be rude but tonight is really not the best night for a surprise drop in just for a- well- chat. Is there anything in particular I could help you with?”

Chat’s playful expression wavered, flickering between concern and surprise before settling on concern. “Oh. I’m sorry, Marinette. I didn’t realize this was a bad time. I can leave if that’s what you want.”

His head fell slightly, shoulders hunching. Marinette studied him. Chat didn’t seem to be his normal playful self tonight- something was wrong. There was an artificial undercurrent to his usual jokes. He seemed almost… dejected, but like he was trying to hide it.

Oh.

“No, it’s fine. I’m…” Marinette sighed, and met his eyes with a small smile. She sat down, patting the ground beside her. “I’m sorry. That was rude of me. I’m just having kind of a rough night, but that doesn’t mean I get to be mean to a friend.”

“You’re never mean,” Chat sighed, sliding down next her. His gloved fingers tapped rhythmically on his thigh. “That’s one of the reasons I like stopping by to see you. You always cheer me up, which means tonight it’s MY turn to cheer YOU up!” He tilted his head to meet her eyes, smiling. “So what’s on your mind?”

Marinette knitted her eyebrows together, eyeing him. His expression was so earnest, it surprised her. And what did he mean about her cheering him up? He was always in a playful mood, it seemed like nothing ever got him down. 

“Cat got your tongue? It’s okay, Marinette. You can trust me.” 

“I know, I’m just… trying to find the words. It’s hard to talk about.”

“I get that,” Chat nodded. “No pressure. I can wait.”

Man, he REALLY wasn’t gonna drop it. This is just like him, she thought in exasperated admiration. If Chat knew someone needed help, there was no stopping him. It was the kind of reckless heroism that had both saved lives and almost gotten his ended. Interesting to see how it applied to non life-threatening situations.

“I’ve got… a lot of responsibilities right now,” Marinette started hesitantly. “School, the bakery, designer projects-” saving Paris every week, she thought, “-and it seems like I just keep being asked to do more and more. I can’t say no, people are depending on me. But… it’s not… easy being spread so thin. I want to help, I want to do well, I want to… I want to be someone people can rely on. But it seems like every day just gets harder, and there’s more tough decisions to make, and everyone thinks I’m some perfect person who can do everything, but I just can’t! I can barely even manage myself, my relationships with people are getting harder to maintain, and nobody even notices.” Her voice broke. “I just… I can’t-”

Suddenly her head was on his chest, Chat’s arms wrapped around her shoulders. With a start, she realized she was crying. She hadn’t even noticed her cheeks were wet until they were pressed into the warm fabric of his suit. 

He didn’t say anything for a moment. He just let her cry, lightly rubbing her shaking shoulders. It was almost embarrassing. She hadn’t meant to cry all over him, and now here he was feeling like he had to comfort her. He didn’t know she was Ladybug, he thought she was just a normal teenager. A normal teenager’s issues usually paled in comparison to what Chat and Ladybug dealt with, he would think she was just being dramatic and-

“I know how you feel,” he murmured. “Putting on an act every day and acting like you don’t have the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

Sniffling, Marinette pulled away and glanced at him cautiously. He kept one comforting hand on her arm, and smiled softly at her.

“Marinette, I’ve saved enough of your classmates to know how they feel about you. You have a reputation for being one of kindest people around. You always do what you can to help people, but have you ever thought about what you want?”

“What… I want?” she asked, a little taken aback. 

“Yeah, what do you want? Cause whatever you’re doing right now is clearly not making you happy.”

“Not making me happy… But it does make me happy, Chat. I love helping people, I love seeing people smile when I go out of their way for them.”

“Princess, it sounds like you need to set some boundaries for your own good. If you keep working yourself to the point of tears, you’re gonna run out of steam and not be able to help yourself, much less the people you care about.”

Marinette sat in dumbfounded silence for a moment, her eyes searching his. He was still smiling, a comforting smile that felt like it understood her. She’d never seen Chat look this kind, this gentle. Then again, she’d never really expressed her anxiety and stress to him as Ladybug. This was a new side to Chat, one that she’d never experienced before. 

“So?” he prompted, still smiling gently. 

“So… so what?”

“So what do you want?” 

“I don’t know,” she answered, breaking his gaze and staring fixedly at the ground. “I’ve never thought about it.”

A beeping interrupted them. Chat’s ring flashed.

“Hm. Saved by the bell, it seems!” He gave her shoulder a light squeeze, standing up lithely and stretching. She tilted her head to look up at him. “But that just means homework.”

“Homework?” 

“I’ll be back sometime this week. Think about what you want, and I’ll do whatever I can to make it happen.” He placed a clawed hand on her head, and ruffled her hair playfully.

“Chat, I can’t ask you to-”

“Marinette, it’s the least I can do for the girl who does everything for everyone.”

With one last smile, he took off. She watched his receding figure, vaulting and twisting over the Paris skyline, until he melted into the dark.


	3. chapter three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter kicked my ASS and its insanely long, sorry it took so long to get out! turns out i really enjoy writing from Adrien's perspective.
> 
> as always, constructive criticism is appreciated!

Okay, so maybe Plagg had a point. But he didn’t have to be so LOUD about it.

The whole way home, his superhero suit had vibrated in a mutinous rage. Chat Noir had barely made it into his window before he transformed, his feet thudding softly on the hardwood floor, and Plagg immediately started zizzing angrily around Adrien’s head.

“I NEVER call people irresponsible, because I believe irresponsibility is good for the soul, but YOU! NO amount of camembert… You didn’t even ask me if I was OKAY with this! What if she wants something you can’t do? What if because of YOU she fails out of school? What if THAT’S her want? That should be YOUR want, you stupid-”

Adrien let the kwami rant as he trudged to flop on his bed, exhaustion weight down his limbs. Maybe it had been a step too far, pressuring Marinette to share her feelings. But he’d never seen her so obviously sad. She was still trying to put on a happy front for him, smiling politely and doing her best to be accommodating as if he hadn’t dropped in unexpectedly in the middle of the night. 

I did the right thing, Adrien assured himself as Plagg’s irritated zooming made his hair whisk across his forehead. Marinette would never let anyone help her unless she was pushed. The girl tried to be independent to a fault. 

He hadn’t expected her to cry, though.

Marinette, the girl whose smile was basically sunshine, who always made everyone feel better, who tried every day to be the best person she could be, a girl that he considered one of his good friends and thanked his lucky stars for it, had cried. Thinking about it made his chest tighten. 

To Adrien, Marinette was everything his life lacked. She was like love personified- her classmates loved her, her friends adored her, her parents doted on her. Yet she still didn’t seem to realize just how phenomenal she was. Goodness was just inherent to her, second nature.

The first time Adrien had really been able to talk to Marinette was as Chat. For some reason, she got nervous around Adrien- he supposed it had something to do with her intimidation of his fashion designer father. Or maybe it was because she was still wary of how close he was with Chloe, assuming he was cruel like her despite his best efforts to convince Marinette otherwise. He couldn’t blame her either way. His father WAS a nerve-inducing man, and Adrien’s friendship with Chloe didn’t really make sense to anyone outside of him. 

As Adrien, all he got from Marinette were anxious stammers and nervous smiles. 

But as Chat, Marinette was finally the person she was around everyone else. She was warm, giggly, inviting, and all too kind with a pinch of sass. He wished he could see her like that in his civilian form.

Someone that warm, that sunshiney, deserved the world. And as Marinette’s self proclaimed friend, Adrien was determined to do what he could to make that happen. 

“…absolutely ridiculous.” Plagg humphed, and plopped onto Adrien’s chest. It seemed the little cat was finally out of steam. 

“I’m sorry, Plagg, but I just had to help. You know Marinette, you know how sweet she is. I just couldn’t stand seeing her look so down.”

“Boy, do I know Marinette,” Plagg rolled his eyes. “That girl is so lovesick over you it’s like she’s around every corner.”

“She’s not lovesick, Plagg, she’s just my friend. Don’t be ridiculous.”

Still, Adrien’s stomach fluttered a little at the thought. Marinette was not only incredibly sweet and thoughtful, she was very pretty. Any guy with a functioning brain would be excited at the suggestion of a pretty girl having a crush on them. 

“Please,” Plagg snorted. “You’re so dense when it comes to girls that you wouldn’t realize a girl loved you if she signed a love letter in bold.” 

Adrien rolled his eyes and flipped on his side, signifying to the kwami that this conversation was over. Plagg snorted again, and flew to switch the light off before settling back onto his pillow. The little cat was snoring in seconds. It was almost impressive.

Dense when it came to love, Adrien mused. He guessed Plagg had a point. It was true that Adrien wasn’t very experienced when it came to romance, but that was because no girls had really held his attention like that. Most girls around him didn’t really know him, they knew his image. It made dating tricky, and honestly not worth the hassle. 

Of course, that was before Ladybug.

Ladybug was different that any other person he’d ever met. She was smart as a whip, capable of anything, and so compassionate it almost broke his heart sometimes. Her compassion even extended to HIM, even though she knew he annoyed her on purpose. Meeting her was a gift, knowing her was ecstatic, and being in love with her was the sweetest torture known to man.

The unfortunate part was Ladybug only knew Adrien as Chat Noir, and not behind the mask. He recognized the irony. The girl who knew him best couldn’t know him at all on a normal level. He wondered what advice Ladybug would give Marinette, and resolved to ask her next time they were on patrol. 

————————

He wasn’t sure why he was so nervous. It was just another day at school, just another day of seeing his friends and classwork.

Adrien sat, twiddling a pen in between his thin fingers, staring absent-mindedly into nothing as Miss Bustier took roll. Nino, sensing Adrien was having one of his melancholic episodes, sat beside him and drummed out a new beat lightly on the table. Every once in a while he gave Adrien a confused smile, which he attempted to return.

His nerves made no sense! He hadn’t felt this antsy since the first day of school. It was like a million butterflies had decided to host a rave in his gut, and his eyes couldn’t decide if they wanted to bore a hole in his desk or flit anxiously around the room. 

“Dude.”

Adrien glanced up to see Nino’s quizzical expression.

“What is UP with you today?” he asked. “I’ve never seen a rich model look so stressed. Your dad is gonna KILL you if you get early stress lines, so tell me what’s up.”

“I don’t know what’s up, man,” Adrien said. “I’ve been super nervous about school all day, and I don’t-”

With a bang, the door to the classroom swung open, and there she was. For such a tiny figure, it was impressive how all over the place Marinette seemed. Blue hair bouncing, arms windmilling, and finally one misplaced attempt to right her balance landed the pig-tailed girl on her face. 

“Sorry, sorry!” 

A cackling Alya trailed behind her, scooping Marinette up with suspiciously well-practiced ease.

“Girl, when I said we needed to rush so we wouldn’t be late I didn’t mean you had to crash through the damn door!” 

Marinette blushed even more deeply than she already was, looking as indignant as she could with Alya’s arms still scooped under her own. Her eyebrows furrowed as she turned her chin to face her best friend, but her eyes met Adrien’s in the process. They widened, and whatever retort she was about to fire back promptly died with a small squeak. Blushing an even deeper crimson, she muttered something under her breath and stiffly dragged Alya to their seats.

Adrien chuckled humorlessly. Of course she was still the same around him. She didn't know it was him who had comforted her last night, of course.

“Oh, dude.”

Adrien turned to see Nino staring at him, something sparkling in his eyes.

“What?”

“Is that why you’ve been weird? Marinette?”

“What? What- what do you mean? No! Why Marinette?”

Shit, shit, shit, did Nino know? How could he know? There’s no way he could know anything- 

“You have a thing for Marinette!” Nino hissed excitedly, hitting Adrien’s shoulder. “You were TOTALLY staring at her, dude, your jaw was on the FLOOR- oh my god, when Alya figures it out-”

“You think I have a thing for Marinette?” Adrien interrupted in a low whisper, equal parts shocked and relieved. “I don’t have a thing for her!”

“Yeah, okay. One day you’ll figure it out.” Nino leaned back with a smirk. “I’ve suspected for a while now, but the way you just looked at her-” he let out a low whistle. “Well, it basically confirmed it.” 

How had he looked at her? Bemused, maybe a little in awe of her clumsiness? Adrien snuck a glance over his shoulder, peering at the dark haired girl behind him. She was still pink cheeked, and was staring intently at her desk. Had she always had freckles? 

Her eyes darted up, blue briefly meeting green before they snapped back down. An embarrassed blush of his own crept over his cheeks as he whipped his head back around. 

A soft smile spread over his face. No, Marinette was still just a friend. A good friend, despite her shyness, and one that was struggling. That was the reason he felt so nervous- he wasn’t supposed to know about her struggles but he was still going to support her. 

As Adrien and Chat Noir.


End file.
